


Stranded

by tazzmatic



Series: SenGen Week 2020 [4]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Day 4- SenGen Week 2020, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28445412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tazzmatic/pseuds/tazzmatic
Summary: Still, sometimes, he wished they were real friends and not people who simply enjoyed irritating the other.Like now, for instance.Out in the middle of nowhere, at one in the morning, with no way home, heavy backpack digging into his shoulders and a telescope.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Series: SenGen Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080713
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	Stranded

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to Misha!!! This would have never been allowed to be posted otherwise. Love you!! 
> 
> Day 4 of SenGen Week 2020!! This is more college au than classmate au. But similar enough, right? Lol. 
> 
> Please enjoy!!

Senku is not what one would call a people person. 

He’s blunt and caustic, mind always focused on something science related. He doesn’t care about rumors or the gossip of celebrities. He’s had the same two best friends growing up, everyone else mere afterthoughts, only useful when needed. 

Byakuya marrying Lillian Weinberg in his last year of high school changed everything. 

Not that Senku wasn’t happy for his dad. They had been dating for three years and Senku got along well with Lillian. Senku was happy for them both. 

Along with Lillian, however, came her three nieces: Ruri, Kohaku, and Suika. 

With _them_ came a whole string of people, who knew more people, who then introduced even more people to the group. In the space of a few months, Senku found himself friends with a variety of people he wouldn't have given a second look before. 

Including famous magician Asagiri Gen. 

Senku can admit, now, a few years later, that his horrible first meeting with Gen was entirely his fault. But he was young and stupid and believed anyone who practiced _magic_ was a moron. 

It’s one of the few times Senku wishes he kept his mouth shut instead of bluntly telling the older man his real feelings. He can still see the polite smile on Gen’s face growing cold, his blue eyes turning to ice, and the sharp glint of teeth as he proceeded to tell Senku his every shortcoming. 

If Senku hadn't been so pissed off, he might have been impressed. 

As it was, it set the precedent for their every meeting. If they weren't outright arguing over something then they were passive-aggressively insulting one another. 

At one point it got so bad that, for several months, they forced their mutual friends to spend time with them separately. If not for Ruri telling them both how selfish they were trying to ruin Suika’s upcoming birthday party, and forcing everyone else to pick sides, they might not have ever made up. 

While usually everyone took their dislike for each other with amusement, sometimes even egging them on, their refusal to be in the same room with each other hurt everyone. 

Of course, _making up_ was putting it lightly. It was more that they agreed to speak to each other as little as possible, eventually snarking at each other being their main way to communicate. 

It worked for the most part. Their friends rolling their eyes and snickering at them in between trying to get them to be friends. 

_"Really, Senku, I don't know why you hate Gen so much. He's not a bad guy!"_

Logically, Senku knew he wasn't. Senku wasn’t stupid. He realized he misjudged Gen, letting his own misconceptions override his common sense. He saw how much Gen cared about their friends through their interactions. How he doted on little Suika. How much work he put into his magic, even if Senku didn’t understand it. 

Senku also found it fun, arguing with Gen. Hardly anyone could keep up with him in an argument and it was always interesting learning Gen’s thoughts. 

Still, sometimes, he wished they were real friends and not people who simply enjoyed irritating the other.

Like now, for instance. 

Out in the middle of nowhere, at one in the morning, with no way home, heavy backpack digging into his shoulders and a telescope. 

It’s partly his fault and partly the fault of his annoying friends who don’t know how to mind their own business. Or maybe it's completely their fault. Senku is going to blame them anyway. 

Really, they all should have known better than to try and set Senku up on a date. And he should know better than to agree. 

Even Senku can’t deny the attractive qualities of Tamaki. He’s no Gen, but he’s handsome with his messily styled dark hair and grey eyes. Plus, he’s a fellow astrophysicist. They should have plenty in common. One date should be easy enough to handle. Go outside the city, look at the stars. Should have been fine. 

Except Senku still can’t keep his damn mouth shut. 

One pissed off date later, Senku is left stranded several miles from any bus stops and no cars in sight. Thankfully, it's only autumn. The days have cooled off from the blistering summer heat and it’s not cold enough to worry about being out for a great length of time. 

His phone is fully charged and he has great cell service. Not so great friends. Taiju’s phone immediately goes to voicemail. He’s probably out of data again. Yuzuriha’s rings, but she doesn't pick up. Kohaku answers, but there’s so much background noise he just hangs up. She doesn’t send a text so he figures she’s already drunk. It is girls night out, after all. 

Tsukasa is out of town, preparing for a match and Ryusui kidnapped Ukyo, taking him for a date in France. Chrome can’t drive and it's much the same for everyone else in Senku’s contacts. Out of town, too drunk, or can’t drive. And he has no money to call for an uber.

Honestly, what if Senku had a real emergency and was dying? 

Senku sighs. He knows it’s not their fault. He’s just _exhausted._ It’s already been over an hour since he started walking back, calling everyone he could. 

Groaning, he glares at the one name he’s been avoiding. He can’t even remember how he got the number in the first place. Probably Chrome. Or Ruri. They were both meddlesome. But once it was there he never bothered taking it out. There was no call history between them, no text messages. 

There was never a reason to contact him personally. 

Senku presses the call button before he can talk himself out of it, eyes squeezed shut as the phone rings once, twice-- 

" _Hello_?" 

Senku’s breath catches. He hadn't expected Gen to answer. Maybe he doesn’t know it’s Senku?

" _Senku-chan? Are you there?_ " 

Or maybe he does. 

"Yeah!" Senku shouts, wincing, clearing his throat. "Yeah. I'm here. Uh, hi?" 

" _Hello_." Gen sounds far too amused. 

Senku scowls at nothing in particular. "What are you doing?" 

"What are you doing and calling _me_?" 

Oh. Right. 

"Touche." He clicks his tongue, sighing. "I was wondering if you could….pick me up?" He waits a beat. "Please?" 

" _Where are you at?_ " 

Senku gives him the directions. Gen gives a low whistle, the sound of pen scratching on paper being heard. 

"Yeah. I'll give you gas money for it later." 

" _Mhm. I'll be there as soon as I can_." 

"Thank you, Gen." Senku sighs, relieved. 

" _You're welcome_." Gen hangs up. 

Senku plops down on the grass, shrugging his backpack off. He really needed to get in shape. He’s surprised Gen agreed so easily to come get him. He thought for sure Gen would tease and say Senku owes him for doing this. Of course, he still might. Senku doesn’t care anymore. He just doesn’t want to walk all the way back to town. 

About 40 minutes later, headlights come into view. Senku drags himself up, waiting for Gen to stop the car beside him. Gen watches him in amusement, unlocking his doors so Senku can toss his stuff in the back and climb in.

“Thanks,” He mumbles. “I’ll pay you for the gas Monday.” 

Gen merely nods, the silence awkward. It’s the first time they’ve ever been alone together. 

"Are you hurt or anything?" 

"Hmm." Senku opens his eyes, not even realizing he had closed them, leaning his head back against the seat. "No, just tired. I walked for a good while." 

He sees Gen nod out of the corner of his eye, lightly tapping the steering wheel. 

"Thanks. Again." Senku shifts, not sure what else to say. "You know, for coming to get me." 

Gen gives him a quick smile. "It's no problem, Senku-chan. I figured it must be important for you to call me. What were you doing out here all alone anyway?" 

Senku feels himself blushing, not really wanting to tell Gen. But he did come all this way to get him, any teasing would be worth it. 

"I was on a date." 

"Oh? A date. How interesting." 

Gen's voice sounds _off_ , but Senku is too tired to give it much thought. 

"Yeah. And then I might have pissed him off and he left me on the side of the road." 

Gen snorts, hand covering his mouth as he chuckles. "You? Piss someone off? I never would have guessed." 

Senku finds himself grinning as well, laughing. "It's a talent, you know." 

"I believe that." 

Just like that the awkwardness is gone, a comfortable silence engulfing them. It’s strange considering they usually spend their time insulting each other. But Senku is tired and Gen is doing him a favor. 

"Still though," Gen frowns. "It was wrong of him to leave you like that. So far out of the city. It's dangerous." 

He shrugs. "I had my phone." 

"That's not the point. What if it had been colder? Or hotter? Or some crazy person found you and decided to kill you and sell your organs on the black market?" 

Senku throws his head back, laughing loudly. "Holy shit, Gen. What TV shows have you been watching?" 

Gen pouts. "It could happen." 

"It's a good thing my knight in shining armor came to rescue me then," he drawls, rolling his eyes. 

"Oooh." Gen preens. "I like that. I should wear a cape." 

"Don't you wear a cape on some of your shows?" 

"You watch my shows?" Gen glances at him, clearly surprised. 

Senku turns, looking out the window, hoping Gen can’t see the blush creeping up his neck. "Chrome watches your shows. He won't let me change it. Says we should support you or something like that." 

Which isn’t a lie. Chrome insists they always have Gen’s shows on TV as a way to show support. Senku made a few token protests at first, but now he casually reminds Chrome to change the channel when Gen’s show starts. He’s pretty sure Chrome hasn’t caught on. 

"Besides they're not all bad. I get to make fun of your outfits." 

Gen chuckles.

"They can get rather ridiculous. My manager's idea. He thinks the more extravagant the better." 

Senku snorts, beginning to pick at his ear. "That's stupid. You're not there to model clothes, you're there to wow people with your magic." 

"Mainly, yes, but presentation is important for a magician." 

"Sure. Okay. I don't see what you need a fruit headdress for." 

"That was a bit much." Gen agrees, wincing. "We argued for a week over me wearing it. It interfered with several of my tricks, but Mike-chan just pointed to our contract and said I didn't have a choice." 

Senku frowns. "You should get a new manager. When does your contract run out?" 

"Another year." 

"You should start looking now. Lillian probably knows someone. And Tsukasa." 

Gen hums lightly, finger tapping against the steering wheel again. Senku wonders if it's a nervous tic. 

"I was thinking of quitting actually." 

"What?" Senku hears his neck pop, twisting so suddenly to look at Gen in shock. 

"I haven't told anyone," he says, carefully keeping his eyes straight ahead. "And I haven't made up my mind yet. The entertainment industry is always fast paced, you know. Which is fine. It's fun and I enjoy the challenge. But I have to come up with something new every week if I want to stay relevant and in the public eye. I'm just….tired." 

Senku leans back, nodding, watching Gen silently. He has never thought much about it before. He knows his dad and Lillian have to compromise a lot for her job. Sometimes Byakuya and Suika travel with her. Tsukasa has mentioned once that he only had a few more years left in him for fighting. He just assumed it was because Tsuaksa had started so young and it was wearing on his body. 

But Gen was also a teen celebrity, wasn’t he? He'd been discovered in America, eventually making his way back to his home country and making it big in Japan as well. 

While Senku was a child prodigy, even having several award winning scientists in his contact list, and many of them calling him for help whenever they got stuck on something or wanted someone to look over their findings in case they missed something it wasn't the same as being consistently judged by the general public on a daily basis. 

"What're you going to do then? If you quit." 

Gen’s shoulders relax. Did he think Senku would be upset at him for wanting to quit? 

"I thought I'd finish my degree I'm slowly working towards, instead of the one or two classes I just barely manage to take." 

"You can always go back after you graduate. Or only do a few shows a year to better focus on school," Senku suggests.

"That's true." Gen nods. "I have a while before I have to decide." 

"Yeah." 

Senku finds himself disappointed when they hit the city, knowing he only has a few minutes left until Gen drops him off at the dorms. He feels special, knowing something about Gen none of their friends know. It’s nice, the fact that despite everything, Gen is apparently comfortable enough to tell him something so important.

“Are you hungry?” 

“What?” 

Gen stops at a red light, throwing him a shy grin. “I imagine it's been several hours since you’ve eaten. We could stop at Jasper’s and get something.” 

He was starving, now that Gen mentioned it, but he didn’t want to take up more of Gen’s time than he already had. 

“Oh. No, I’m fine. I can find something to eat at the dorms anyway.” 

“Right. Of course,” Gen mutters, turning to head towards the college. 

Does he sound disappointed? Or is that Senku’s imagination? He isn’t sure what to think. Though if Gen wants to drop him off as soon as possible, he wouldn’t have offered to get Senku food, right? 

“I have been craving his ramen, though.” Senku says, casually. 

Gen practically beams, quickly turning around in what Senku is pretty sure is an illegal u-turn. 

“They do make good ramen, right? I like their coffee too.” 

“I don’t think you need any coffee,” he smirks. 

Gen sticks his tongue out at him, pulling up at Jasper’s within a few minutes. It’s empty, which isn’t a surprise. They stayed open all night for the random college kids to stop by, but near three in the morning most people are home, asleep. They walk in, waving at Ruby manning the shop for the night. She looks mildly surprised to see them alone, together, but thankfully keeps her comments to herself, taking their order with a nod. 

Sliding into a booth, Senku’s pleased when their easy conversation from the car transfers inside. He loses track of time, sitting there, joking with Gen, hours after they have finished eating. He absently notes Ruby giving them suspicious looks, her phone raised casually towards them, but he ignores her. A part of him is afraid if he brings attention to her, Gen might notice and they’d leave. 

When the sun's rays peek over the horizon, Gen blinks in surprise, digging his phone out, a light blush forming. “I’m sorry, Senku-chan. I didn’t mean to keep you out all night.” 

Senku waves him off, following Gen as he stands up. “It's fine. I wasn’t paying attention either.” 

“Still, I’m sure you’d much rather be sleeping than keeping me company.” 

He shrugs, waving bye to Ruby who winks at him. Gen’s phrasing is odd, but he doesn’t know how to bring it up. Maybe he can ask about it later. “It’s fine, Gen. This was fun.” 

Gen grins brightly, “It was fun, right? We should do it again.” 

“Sure.” 

Too soon, Senku’s waving as Gen drives off, yawning widely as he makes his way towards his room. He takes his shoes off, leaning his telescope against the wall, deciding he’ll put it up later. 

“Senku?” Chrome yawns, scratching at his chest while stepping out of the bathroom. 

“Hey, Chrome.” Senku passes him, heading towards his room. 

“You just getting back?” He blinks, wide eyed, a grin forming. “Wow, dude! That’s awesome! I’m glad the date went well.” 

Senku frowns, remembering exactly why he had spent the last few hours in a diner with Gen. Before he can explain, Chrome is already closing his bedroom door, demanding details at a more appropriate time to be awake. He sighs, deciding to deal with it later, throwing his backpack in a corner of his room before falling face down on his bed. He’s exhausted, but happy. 

His phone dings at him causing him to groan as he pulls it out, an unbidden smile forming as he reads the message. 

_Asagiri Gen: Sleep well, Senku-chan! Text me when you wake up so we can get breakfast!_

Senku texts back an affirmative, unsure how the older man has so much energy. Probably the two cups of overloaded sugar coffee he drank. He sets his alarm to wake him up in a few hours. 

He doesn’t want to miss breakfast with Gen, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!!


End file.
